The battle of Florida is on with the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida’s star winger Matthew Tkachuk is back in the lineup after missing the last two months of the regular season due to a lower-body injury sustained in the Four Nations Face-Off tournament. Tkachuk was the star of Game 1 of the playoffs Tuesday night.
Matthew Tkachuk Shines In Game 1
Tkachuk, playing for the first time in more than two months after dealing with a lower-body injury, scored two second-period goals in his return game. Those two goals were both of the power-play variety, the first putting Florida up 4-1 — the second goal for the Panthers in 14 seconds. The next one pushed the lead to 5-1 midway through the second period.
Tkachuk also had a physical presence in the game. He tangled with Tampa Bay Lightning’s Brandon Hagel, taking the game’s first penalty on a roughing call. The Lightning did end up scoring on that Power play. Tkachuk and Hagel are no strangers when becoming physical, they tangoed in the 4 Nations Tournament.
Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said during his bench interview with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, ” he is the difference-maker. He’s got an incredible set of hands, got an incredible gift for the emotional needs of a game when you need a hit when you need a big play. He’s been great for us.”
Tkachuk missed the team’s final 25 games of the regular season, yet still finished with 22 goals and 57 points — third most on the team in all three categories. He was also second on the Panthers this season with 11 power-play goals. In his postgame interview with Emily Kaplan, he said, “There’s no better time to be an athlete, this is the time of our lives. And just getting a win here in Game 1 is the cherry on top.”
Final Thoughts
The Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning will face off again Thursday night at the Amalie Arena in Tampa. The Panthers will look to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series while the Lightning will look to even the series 1-1 before heading back to Sunrise Saturday afternoon. Will Tkachuk have that grit and goal-scoring presence again in Game 2? Nothing is doubting me at this point with the way he brings his physicality and demeanor to the game.
